Leo James is down again.
Chelsea suffered a 0-2 loss to Everton in the 16th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) at Goodison Park in Merseyside, England, on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET. With just one win in their last five games, including the loss to Everton, Chelsea remain in 10th place with 19 points. The gap to the top of the table is widening.
Chelsea dominated the game, but rarely threatened Everton’s goal. Their crosses were repeatedly blocked and they had five shots on goal, but only one was on target. Even that was saved by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
After a 0-0 first half, the teams split in the second half, with Dwight McNeill starting the counterattack in the 10th minute. McNeill dribbled to the edge of the penalty box before slipping in a killer pass that was met by Calvert Lewin, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. But from the second ball, Abdoulaye Doucoure slotted home to give Everton the lead.
Everton drove a wedge into the game. In second-half stoppage time, a ball from a corner was cleared off the line by Sanchez and Lewis Dobbin finished with his left foot from behind. In the end, Everton defeated Chelsea 2-0 to extend their league winning streak to three games.
It was a crushing defeat for Chelsea. After losing 1-2 to Manchester United in the previous round, the Blues went down to their knees in a 0-2 defeat. To make matters worse. In the 26th minute, James signaled for a substitution, and Levi Colwill came on in his place.
Another injury. James started against Liverpool in the league opener this season, but was forced off with an injury. The hamstring injury took James about two months to rehabilitate. He gradually improved his form after his return, but was sent off against Newcastle United due to accumulating cautions. On his return against United, James was forced off the field with another injury.
There is a possibility of a recurrence of the hamstring injury. According to Football London, “James was substituted after 26 minutes of the first half due to potential injury concerns. He is understood to be suffering from a hamstring problem.” “He felt something in his hamstring,” Mauricio Pochettino said in his post-match interview.
It’s become a nagging problem. James missed seven games last season with a hamstring injury and has missed nine games in all competitions so far this season. James missed 22 PL games last season due to a combination of knee and hamstring injuries. In 2021-22, James was also limited to five games with a hamstring injury.
If the injury is deep this time around, he is expected to face a lengthy rehabilitation. “We don’t yet know how long James will be out for, but the hamstring injury could see him miss the rest of the year,” said Football London.